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The Sports Xchange

Jun 12, 2012

, Last Updated: 4:51 AM ET

Padres shortstop Everth Cabrera will be in the lineup Tuesday in Seattle after Glendale, Ariz., prosecutors on Monday abruptly dismissed domestic charges against the player stemming from an incident during spring training.

Cabrera, 25, flew from Milwaukee to Arizona late Sunday night to appear in court Monday morning while his teammates were enjoying a day off in Seattle.

“We were ready to proceed to trial, but they (the prosecutors) wanted to dismiss,” said Richard Suzuki, Cabrera’s attorney. “It lasted five minutes or so.”

The charge was dismissed “without prejudice,” meaning the case against him could be refiled at some point by next March. That doesn’t appear likely, however. Suzuki speculated that the case was dropped because of “discrepancies about what happened that night (March 16).”

Cabrera was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault in Glendale, about five miles from the Padres’ spring training home in Peoria. Glendale police responded to a call early that morning about a fight between Cabrera and his wife (Connie). According to the police report, Cabrera assaulted his wife by hitting her in the face with a closed fist and slamming her head against the wall.

But Cabrera said he was defending himself. In the police report, Cabrera said his wife hit him and had been throwing things at him, including a water glass that hit the wall so hard it made a hole in it. Police noted scratches on his left hand. “Everth later said he must have gotten them from her scratching him,” the police report states.

Cabrera had refused accepting a plea bargain that included no jail time. He said he wanted to prove he was innocent and clear his name. If he had been convicted, jail time could have interfered with his baseball career.